


Drabble - Agent Acquired

by Toastybluetwo



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Mass Effect
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-18
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-08 03:10:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3193094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toastybluetwo/pseuds/Toastybluetwo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another Cerberus defector joins the battle against the Reapers. Mass Effect-Dragon Age crossover/AU/whatever you want to call it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drabble - Agent Acquired

**Author's Note:**

> This plot bunny has been with me for a month now, and wouldn't go away until I gave in to writing it.

 

"You may have seen reference to Project Zion in my personnel files when you were still with Cerberus." Miranda walked by Shepard's side, activating her omnitool with a few taps of her elegant fingers. "When my father cloned Oriana and I, we weren't the only one created by those scientists. It was a structured project, limited to the wealthiest humans in the galaxy, to genetically engineer perfect children. Out of some twenty viable embryos, only five of us were born - all powerful biotics."

Shepard exhaled slowly, glancing at the new message indicator that flashed on the back of her hand. She dismissed it with a light pass of her fingers. "You're saying that Pavus is a clone, like you."

"A clone of his own father." Miranda dismissed her omnitool and waited at the prison door, looking at Shepard expectantly. "Though, he is like me in more than one way - both clones of our fathers, both defiant against them."

"Yeah." Kaidan hissed through his teeth and shifted on the balls of his feet. "I served with him. Sentinel 121st."

Shepard swept a hand across the authorization keypad. The door hissed open, and only then did she turn to set her blue eyes on Kaidan's face. "You could have told me that, you know. Did you know him?"

"Yeah." Now Kaidan wasn't even meeting her gaze. "He was in my squad. Good soldier, good man, cared well enough, followed orders but - he didn't really belong in military life."

"So you didn't just kind-of know him, you knew him." They would talk about this later, privately. This wasn't the time to discuss protocol and specifics. Shepard shook her head. Soldiers talked, squadmates bonded and learned much about one another's lives and passions and motivations. There was much more to this story than Kaidan let on.

"We played together as children," Miranda said as she stepped through the open prison door. "Our fathers were friends. Dorian Pavus is a tech man. Robotics, VI, AI. He spent more time in a lab than in combat simulations developing his biotics. That's probably why he was recruited by the Illusive Man."

"Bet you lunch that he worked on EDI while they were building the SR2," Kaidan murmured.

"I'm not taking that bet. EDI's emotional adaption functions practically have his name written all over them. I know his work." Miranda walked over to one of the cells, one sealed with a substantial barrier, and stood before it with her arms crossed.

"Miranda Lawson!" A cultured voice spoke up from the cell. "What a surprise. It's been years. How have you been? Have you come to rescue me?"

Shepard stepped up to the cell. Inside, on the cell's bed, sat a man still wearing a black Cerberus uniform. A worn hardback book rested in his lap; he pressed a cloth bookmark between two pages and lovingly closed the tome. His coal-black hair appeared in a state of semi-disarray.

Shepard stepped forward, squinting at the man, searching his face for any sort of indication that they had met before. He didn't look familiar. "Commander Shepard," she said, lifting her chin slightly. "I understand that you have some information for us."

"Oh yes, I do." He stood, dropping a precise salute in her direction. His grey eyes, however, shifted to Kaidan's face. "Kaidan Alenko. Looks like I'm a fortunate prisoner, aren't I? So many unexpected visitors in the form of old friends."

Shepard turned her pointed gaze to Kaidan, watching him carefully.

Kaidan's gaze hardened, however. "Don't change the subject, Pavus. The commander is a busy woman. You're wasting time."

The man behind the barrier peaked an elegant eyebrow. "Well, we wouldn't want that." He returned his attention to Shepard. "My intel informs me that you exchange protection for Cerberus secrets. I can offer you that, and more. But first, you'll need to release me. I can grant you access to classified Cerberus research in facilities so hidden from Alliance eyes that nothing short of a set of explicit directions could lead you there." He leaned forward, dropping the volume of his voice to almost the point of a whisper. "I can show you prototypes that will advance human warfare capabilities to Asari levels of technology or beyond. But, as I said, I must come with you."

Shepard hesitated. The deal proved so very tempting, and the fact that the man's military training meant that he could pull his own weight in battle. But she knew the difference between this prisoner and the other Cerberus scientists that had defected to the side of the Alliance; most of them didn't exactly ask to join her squad.

"Alright." Her own voice carried a very obvious lack of trust. "You have a deal. Don't make me regret this."

"Excellent." He rubbed his hands together and tucked his book under one arm. "This will be just like old times, Alenko. You and I laying waste to a mighty battlefield. Glorious." For a moment, Shepard could have sworn that his grey eyes turned blue with restrained biotic power, but this display passed quickly.

Kaidan expression remained steely. "If I even begin to think that you're trying to trick us, or harm the Commander, I'll kill you myself."


End file.
